I flew with Etihad both times and paid no more than £600. Both times stopping at Abu Dhabi after 6 hours, then another 6 hours to Bangkok. No complaints whatsoever.

It would be miles cheaper to fly from Manchester to Bangkok then book a separate domestic flight at the desk to go to Phuket. Miles cheaper. I think the average flight to Phuket is like £20 domestic if you book in Thailand.

I think Air Asia are quite expensive - they're the premium carrier in Thailand so stay away from them.

Stay a night in Bangkok and make your way to Lumpinee Park just to walk around and chill.

If you need a hotel to stay in whilst in Bangkok, I know a place which will give you free transfers to and from the airport, aircon, TV, WiFi, free breakfast, out of the way of tourists, Seven/Eleven down the road and a local restaurant 2 doors down which is visited exclusively by Thais so the food is awesome and dirt cheap. £20-£25 for the night.

If you need something to chill you out in Thailand smoke wise, get onto me on Facebook, Stapes.

Cheers guys. Im struggling trying to find a BKK to Phuket flight which fits with when I would land in BKK from London or Manchester.

Ive budgetted quite a bit for it, so anything under £750 is ok. I'll get more savvy the more I go Im sure. Currently looking at £564 Heathrow to Phuket with Dial-a-flight. Also Hong Kong and Doha routes with ebookers, STA travel or Southall is £626-636.

I take it the stopover in Hong Kong, Doha or Kuala Lumpar involves getting off one plane and onto another or back onto same one? I mean, I won't have to fanny around with anything other than my hand luggage?

Cheers guys. Im struggling trying to find a BKK to Phuket flight which fits with when I would land in BKK from London or Manchester.

Book it when you get there at the desk rather than online. Chill for a night in Bangkok and take in what's around you. I regret not spending more time in Bangkok to be honest. Once you get to Phuket you'll get lost in all the holidaying lifestyle that everybody leads. In Bangkok on your own, take the Skytrain to a place and just walk around.

Originally Posted by stapesmk1

Ive budgetted quite a bit for it, so anything under £750 is ok. I'll get more savvy the more I go Im sure. Currently looking at £564 Heathrow to Phuket with Dial-a-flight. Also Hong Kong and Doha routes with ebookers, STA travel or Southall is £626-636.

Check your stopover times. A lot of the prices quoted which are low involve you stopping over in another country for 10 hours (as I found out in 2009).

Originally Posted by stapesmk1

I take it the stopover in Hong Kong, Doha or Kuala Lumpar involves getting off one plane and onto another or back onto same one? I mean, I won't have to fanny around with anything other than my hand luggage.

Stopovers generally mean you change aircraft. At least I did. You just spend a couple to a few hours wandering around the airport and trying to find your terminal